Complying with the MIT license in an iPhone application

Question

Hi,

I'd like to use some MIT-licensed xml-parsing code in my iPhone game. This seems to require that I package the MIT license with the application. However, my iPhone app does not include extensive documentation and my demographic will not want legal notices shoved in their faces.

My boss is afraid of using this code because our company is very small and doesn't have the money for any type of legal battle. What is the best way to comply with the MIT license in an iPhone app without compromising user experience?

Answer 1

If your app has an About screen, then just include a small button that says "Legal". When tapped, it displays the license. That's how I did it in one of the apps I helped build (iTunes link), and we haven't gotten any complaints about it.

Answer 2

The BSD license is a little more permissive, making it easier to use with an iPhone application, but you still should be able to incorporate this language within the end-user license agreement that iTunes Connect lets you set up for your application. By default, it's a boilerplate document, but you should be able to paste the MIT license into the bottom of that EULA. If users care to check, they'll be able to see your license agreement in iTunes. You could also acknowledge the use of the MIT-licensed code on your web page for the application, with a link back to the source.

Honestly, those putting out the MIT-licensed code tend to want it to be used in all sorts of applications. They just want to make sure someone doesn't take credit for their work, if the code is copied verbatim. I know I'm happy to see my BSD-licensed stuff being used, acknowledgment or not.

Answer 3

If you obtained the source code under the MIT license, there is nothing in the license that says you have to include the license or any copyright in a compiled binary that uses the source. I assume you are not distributing the actual source code (which would require the copyright etc.) on the iPhone.